Songs Of Power
by Reading Girl
Summary: Mia is the newest mutant at the Institute. Or rather, not anymore. Read about it here. Lots of fun and strange madness! New: Chapter eleven! It's here!
1. Default Chapter

Songs of Power Chapter One, Take Two (for those of you that are wondering, I am redoing the early/only chapters because I am unsatisfied)

Disclaimer: Don't own the x-men. Don't own Mally. Mattb3671 owns him, and he is a true genius for comin' up with his character. Read his fic. And that is an order. Thankyou many millions of times over, Matt! I do own Mia. Mia is my own special OC. Just like Ally. And Cat and Kate and Becca, whom you will not see in this fic. I also own half a handful of slightly elderly raisins, an out-of-tune whistle and a piece of moldy cheese, but that's just about it.

Now, for the real thing!:

Mia gulped nervously, her palms sweaty. She didn't like planes, she didn't like leaving home, and she _really_ didn't like leaving home on a plane. It didn't help that she was going to Xavier's Institute for Gifted Children. She was fine with the fact that she was a mutant; what she had problems with was going to what was essentiallya boarding school.

The plane lowered in for a landing, causing a small /bump/ to ripple through the plane, jolting the girl out of her reverie. She looks around, curious at her new surroundings, and comes to realize that once you've seen an airport, you have seen all the airports.

After a nervous eternity waiting for the plane to finally come to "a full and complete stop", she is allowed to disembark, a nervous flight attendant following uselessly after her. Mia hassled her way through the chaos that was the baggage claim, and finally made her way to the pick-up area of the airport.

She soon found her escort, holding a sign with her full name, Annamaria Walker. She walked over to the bald man in the wheelchair, the woman with long white hair and the younger woman with bright red hair.

Professor Xavier watched a young girl approach. She was about five feet four inches, with golden-tan hair and skin, with slightly darker amber eyes. She was lightly built, but seemed strong, carrying a heavy-looking backpack casually slung over one shoulder.

"Hello," said Mia shyly, obviously nervous.

"Hello, Annamaria," said the man in the wheelchair. "I am Professor Xavier, and these are Jean Grey and Ororo Munroe. If you will follow me we can get you to the mansion soon; I have no doubt you are exhausted."

"I am," admitted the girl. "I've been traveling since 12:30 last night. My plane left to early to catch the earliest ferryboat, so we had to take the last one of the evening."

"No wonder you're exhausted!" clucked Ororo, looking worried. "We'll get you home and settled in no time."

After an uneventful car ride to the institute, she was given a whirlwind tour. "And down here is the kitchens," said her guide, Jean, leading them down a long flight of stairs. And that was when Mia tripped.

"AAAAUUGHH!!!" She screamed as she went down and kept on going. As she fell she half-way bounced, half-way rolled down the stairs, before landing with a muffled thud against a closet door. Rolling onto her back she laid there, looking up at the ceiling with a dazed expression. As she stared vaguely at the chandelier, but mostly nothing, Jean's face came overhead, floating in front of her as she stared at it. "Uuuhhhh…" she moaned, causing the closet-door handle to melt into a little puddle. Then she passed out, but not before catching a glimpse of the shattered remains of the stair railing, decimated by her destructive scream.

When she regained consciousness, a few minutes later, there were several more people gathered around her, probably by the scream, all staring at her curiously. "Hi," she squeaked out, voice rough, which only aggravated her problem; a few tiles around her face shattered this time. Mia 'eeped' almost inaudibly, then clapped both hands tightly over her mouth, breathing through her nose.

"Can you talk?" asked a concerned Storm, coming over. Mia shook her head violently in response, eyes wide and frightened. Thinking quickly,Ororo walked briskly over to a small table conveniently located nearby, and brought over a piece of paper and a pencil to the prostrate girl.Mia leaned over and wrote, in a slightly shaky hand, 'water' , so Jean brought her to the kitchen, supporting her. Mia did not speak, or even open her mouth, the entire time, though there was barely controlled panic in her eyes.

Jean handed her a glass of water, a large one, which she drank. And then another. And another. And another. And so one, asBobby, who was also randomly in the kitchen, sort of stared at her.He wasn't _used_ to seeing people drink that much water at all, let alone without stopping for breath.She stopped at her seventh glassand took several deep, gasping breaths, then started to speak again.

"I am so sorry…I was just shocked and it made me scream without thinking about it…I hope not too much damage is done?"

"It should be fine, dear. Many of our students cause considerably more destruction when they first arrive, and some of them even for a good time after."

"Oh, _good_," said the girl, relief evident in her voice. "Though if it is not too much trouble, could I go to bed now? I am very tired…"

"Of course!"

She was taken to a room with a bed already made, which she collapsed on thankfully. She sank into a deep slumber soon, almost comatose she was so exhausted. The night passed peacefully…

That morning she was the last one up, though it was early by her standards. Still exhausted she stumbled over to her window, which she looked out of. Gazing out at the forest she saw, she heaved a deep sigh. Almost no evergreen trees. That was the real difference between here and home…

Oh well, no use crying over it. Mia shrugged mentally then went over to her bags, picking out some clothes for the day. Deciding on a tan-brown shirt that was almost the same color as her skin and khakis, she emphasized the monochromatic-ness of her coloring. She had found that she was more forgettable if she was all approximately one color.

Hesitantly she walked down the stairs, where she was met by Jean, one of the two women at the airport.

"Good morning," said Jean pleasantly.

"Morning," almost-whispered Mia.

"Let's go get some breakfast, then. You can meet your fellow students while we're eating."

Mia's pulse rate skyrocketed at that, nervous energy pouring off of her. Jean pretended to ignore it.

It was the usual chaos in the dining room, though it mostly stopped when Jean and, more importantly, the new girl entered.

"Everyone, this is Mia," said Jean. "I'll leave you all to get acquainted then, shall I?" and with that final proclamation left. Mia gave out a small whimper.

"Hello!" said a kangaroo-ish kid, jumping over to her. "I'm Mally, what's your name?"

"I'm Mia," she said quietly, looking up at him.

"What's you're power?" asked a tactful-as-ever Jamie.

That got a small smile out of her. "I sing," she said, rather cryptically.

"Sing? What's that got to do with anything?" asked a snobby girl, not bothering to introduce herself.

Mia gave a small grin, then executed a high note, perfectly on pitch. The plate the girl was holding (A/N: it's Amara. Not the plate, silly, the student!) melted suddenly, just pouring out if her hands, though it wasn't hot. The high note changed to a low one, and then the fork she was also holding crumbled into small bits, falling to the floor with a gentle pinging noise. Like really really hard snow.

"Rippa!" breathed Mally.

"Now that is cool," put in Rogue, coming up behind him. "Ah'm Rogue, by the way."

"Pleased to meet you," put in the girl, her head lowered shyly once more.

"These are, like, Bobby, Jamie, Jubilee, Wanda, Pietro, Fred, Todd, Lance, Amara, Logan, Sam, Hank, Rahne, Forge, Scott, Kurt, Paige, and Rogue and Mally who you already met, and I'm Kitty," said another girl, dressed all in pink. She said it all in one breath and Mia looked on amazed.

"Speaking as someone with five years singing in choirs, you've got amazing lung capacity," she told her. Kitty blushed slightly, having the grace to be at least slightly embarrassed.

"Want some breakfast?" asked Rahne, leading her over to the table.

"Yes please," breathed the girl, then blushed slightly. "I'm sorry about that. I haven't had anything to eat since that plastic fork on the plane."

"Fork?" asked a confused-looking Kitty.

"It had more nutritional value than anything else," explained Mia, earning a small chuckle, helping herself to a plate of toast and fruit. She sat down and started eating, mannerly despite her obvious hunger. Breakfast passed quickly, a pleasant combination of chatting and good food.

After breakfast the professor called Mia to his office.

"After this I will have you report to Dr. McCoy for a complete physical, but for right now I just have a few questions. Are your powers under control?"

"Yes, they are, for the most part. I can sing normally, not just destructively, and I don't break anything when I talk anymore. Except for when I have a cold; then I'm a natural disaster multiplied."

"Anymore?"

The girl withdrew even farther inside herself. "When it first manifested, I was unable to control it. I could not speak a word for two years." The flat, harsh pain in her voice was clearly evident.

To himself, Professor Xavier thought, 'now, that is something we'll have to look into later'. Out loud he said, "Okay, now, Mia, it's time for you to meet Dr. McCoy. The med lab is down two levels, first door on the right."

Five minutes later, two levels down and on the first door to the right, Mia and Mally and Todd were all sitting, each waiting for their respective exams.

"Uhhh, I'm so tired…" moaned Mia, suffering from the three hours' time difference.

"Where're you from?" asked Mally.

"Washington!" enthused Mia, shaken from her self-pity session. "I sorta miss it already. The trees out here are so frikkin' SMALL! It's surreal!"

After a few minutes' silence, she added in "I'm used to the average tree on the island I live on, Mercer, being a couple hundred of feet tall and evergreen. It's sort of a botanical culture shock. And I'm rambling, probably due to sleep deprivation. Ignore me. And you and Rahne are dating, aren't you, Mally?"

"Umm…yeah…" said the kangaroo boy. "How'd you guess?"

"You were holding hands under the table," put in Mia. "You two are so adorable together!"

"Cut down on fluff, yo," put in Todd from his corner.

"But fluff is so fun and, well, fluffy!" responded the girl. It's true, too.

And with that, Dr. McCoy called through his door for Mia, who excused herself and left.

After Mia's appointment she went outside, wandering randomly around the grounds, humming quietly to herself. At the edge of the woods she paused for a minute and broke out in full song.

"Oh, say can you see, by the dawn's early light,  
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming?  
Whose broad stripes and bright stars, through the perilous fight,  
O'er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming?  
And the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air,  
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there.  
O say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave  
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?"

As she ended she was interrupted by a small, though enthusiastic round of applause. Turning around with yet another 'eep' sound she managed to whack herself in the face with a branch, then fell backwards onto Rahne, who gave out a yelp as she was flattened by the older girl, which caused Kurt to give a small start, who knocked in Amara who started yelling at him for being a "clumsy, useless peasant," who was whacked on the head by Quicksilver to get her to shut up which caused… anyways, point given and (probably) taken. In short, it was chaos.

Logan eventually arrived to sort out the mess. He found a slightly bruised Rahne, a Mia with a bad headache, though fortunately no concussion, a Quicksilver with a few-odd burns, an extremely annoyed Amara, though this was not particularly out-of-the-ordinary, a dazed Kurt and several other minor wounds/injuries.

In the middle of it all was Mia, who was giggling. Upon seeing the weird stares people were giving her and the haughty looks coughcouch**amara**cough others were giving her, she explained, "Tension release. Need it to giggle keep me from hysterical tears…" before breaking into hysterical laughter no more. A few people started to edge slo-o-ow-ly away from her. Eventually, however, she got herself under control, explaining, "Sorry. I'm just a bit tense, being new here and all…Please forgive me?" and that was that. Because the author is tired of this.

A/N: Yes, there are Brotherhood members in with the x-men. This is because I felt like it. If you have problems with it, tell me via email or review. If you like it, tell me via email or review. If you have no opinion…well, you get the point.

Anywho, REVIEW REVIEW REVIW! Please! Just think: half a minute could make my whole day. You know you want to…


	2. Chapter Two

**Songs Of Power: Chapter Two**

**Disclaimer:** Mattb3671 owns Mally. Someone currently ridiculously rich owns the x-men. Needless to say, I am not that person. I only own Ally and Mia, and do not expect to end up ridiculously rich for owning them or for any other reason.

**Shout-outs:**

**Mugglebuddy:** Why thank you! Thank you very much!

**Mattb3671: **Big thanks to Mally! And you! I appreciate it lots and loads!

And without further ado, the actual story:

The rest of the day was a whirlwind: she was shown around the institute, introduced to the remaining people, assigned a room, which she was sharing with Rogue. She went to bed early, exhausted and knowing that tomorrow was her first day of school at Bayville High.

Mia woke up early the next day. She dressed and brushed her hair, wondering why she had woken up so early, then went down stairs. Looking through the kitchen, enlightenment struck and she remembered: today was the first day of school. Stifling a small scream she raced (as quietly as possible) up the stairs, silently panicking.

She changed into a nicer outfit: a deep green shirt and her nice, less-ripped jeans, the green in the shirt catching the gold in her skin, eyes and hair, drawing them out. Finishing the outfit with anice necklace in gold and green, a beautifully made one that ran right along her collar bone, with extensions that ran down further, she finally felt ready. Rogue was up by then, and dressed in one of her typically goth outfits.

They went downstairs to get breakfast together. Mia, grabbing a piece of toast with jam, ate while going through her backpack to make sure she had everything she needed: binder paper, notebook, reading book, algebra, social studies, history and language arts textbooks, and, finally, (just because it wasn't heavy enough already) a couple of bricks. (A/N: LOL!)

She caught a ride to school, and found her locker okay, went to the office to get registered, got referred to another secretary, then a third, waited for a while, was given a talk/lecture by both the principle and vice-principal, and finally given a note to class and a schedule.

She showed up for her first period class, choir, unsurprisingly late.

"Now class," the teacher announced as she walked in. "Now that I've finished my expectations of you this year and what it is going to be like, I have a question for all of you: do any of you have any prior choir experience?"

Part of the class raised their hands. About half didn't.

"For those of you who haven't done this before, we need to warm up before we sing. We'll start with stretching—legs, arms, back, neck—then do some sight-reading practice, followed by a few warm-ups. Finally we'll sing the do-re-mi song, just so it's stuck in your head each day. **Then **the real work."

Mia went to her seat and started to stretch, along with the rest of the class, waving at a girl across the room as she did so. The girl had long auburn hair, a mix of every shade of red, gold and fox imaginable, gorgeous green eyes and unfortunately pale skin and a nice smile, which she flashed back at Mia, giving her a "catch you later" look.

The teacher interrupted this silent discussion by announcing that she was going to place them into voice categories. Each member of the class stood in their seats and sang a single line of a song (A/N: it's 'My Country 'Tis of Thee"), then the teacher pointed to their seat. Mia was surprised to see several of the x-men were in the choir: Kitty, Todd, Fred and Jean.

Mia was put into the category she expected, the altos, while Kitty, Jean and the as-yet-un-introduced-red-haired-girl were all sopranos. The only other people Mia knew, Fred and Toad, were both tenors, along with the majority of the boys, excluding two basses.

At this point Mia noticed that about half the class was looking slightly worried; she guessed that this was the half that had signed up for choir expecting a class that didn't involve any actual work. She noticed Fred and Todd were among them.

That took up most of the class, with just enough time for sheet music to be handed out. Homework was to try and figure out the solfege (A/N: you know the annoying song that goes "Do, a deer , a female deer, Re a drop of golden sun! Me, a name, I call myself, etc." ? Well, the do-re-mi-fa-so-la-ti-do is the solfege scale. Therefore, "figuring out the solfege" is filling in which note it is.)

At the end of that periodthe red-haired girl (it's not Jean)waited for Mia, then lept over to her, exclaiming happily "Mia! I haven't seen you in forever its been much too long I can't believe it you look so different OH I've missed you!"

"Uh oh," put in Mia. "Looks like you've forgotten what periods are since I've left you."

"Details."

"Anyways, can you come over after school? I need to catch up on everything! I have permission. Do you need any?"

"Nope. I can make it."

"Great! Gotta go to math, see ya!"

Fast forward to lunch.>

At lunch Mia sat down across from the girl with red hair who had been in choir with her, Ally.

"It's so great getting to see you again!" she put in happily.

"Who's yah friend?" put in Rogue, sitting down next to her.

"Oh, this is Ally. We used to live next to each other before Ally moved, so it's great to get to see each other again. Don't worry, she knows."

"Oh," said Rogue, glad that at least the girl wouldn't freak out at the institute later that day. She had already heard that Mia was bringing a friend home (A/N: temporarily, of course. YOUR best friends don't just move in randomly, do they?)

Mally and Rahne came over and sat down with them as well. All started eating their lunches, excluding Ally, who had a school lunch, and was just poking dubiously at it. The scary thing was that it was poking back.

Mia, noticing her friends' plight, gave her half a sandwich. Several other people donated food items, and the emerging cauldron of civilization on a cardboard lunch tray was relegated to attempting to evolve in the trashcan. Unfortunately it was conquered by the enemy tribe of the Breadsticks. Know that the author is truly sorry about the strange tangent.

Lunch passed peacefully excluding the scene where Ally slapped Pietro for trying to hit on her. Not expecting it, he didn't dodge, and left them alone quite soon after that.

The rest of the day went quite well. Mia's classes all were pretty good, except for math, which was a living hell as always, P.E, which was utterly too much like PE for comfort, and science, which had a mad nut-case teacher in charge of it who started blathering on about "the enemy" at random. Art was great, language arts, social studies pretty good, history livable, and choir was definitely **the single most bestest class in all of EXISTENCE!!**according to her. Not that she liked it or anything, mind.

Mia and Ally got driven back to the mansion by Scott, and spent the whole time catching up. Letters just weren't the same as talking face-to-face, and Mia couldn't talk for a good portion of the time so the phone was out.

Upon arriving they went to the kitchen to get a snack, then put down their new choir songs on the table and started going over them while munching on apples. They also included a little "debate" about which was better: sopranos or altos.(A/N: Altoslow girls' voice, sopranohigh girls' voice. Tenor is a high or unchanged boys' voice, bass is a low boys' voice. Got it?)

Halfway through they were interrupted by the arrival of Kurt.

"Hello," he said as he bamfed into existence.

"Nice to meetcha!" put in Ally, not put off in the slightest at his less-than-average appearance. He had a bigger reaction upon realizing she was a stranger, not apparently a mutant and that he wasn't wearing his image inducer.

"Calm down," said Ally after a while. "Mia's a mutant and I don't have a problem with her. I got teased and abused when I was younger,and I know what it's like. I'm hardly going to put someone else through the living hell I've endured. Deal with me."

Kurt decided to, and got a snack of his own before leaving.

At this point Freddy walked in. After introductions, he asked for help with his own solfege.

"It's quite simple," explained Mia. "This first note, your starting note, is a do. The next jump, the line above it, is a re. The space above that is a mi. Next come fa, then so, than la, than ti, then finally do again. What you do is you look at which space or line the hole-part of the note is on, then that's what note it is. Therefore your part on this song goes do, ti, ti, la, ti, ti, do, re, mi, fa, do, la, ti. You're filling in the third line down, because you're a tenor. Altos are the second line, sopranos the first and basses fourth. See?"

The big boy nodded, then started to work on his own. Every so often Mia or Ally would look over and check his work. It soon settled into a companionable silence.

All too soon Ally was driven back to her home by Scott, and evening fell. Nothing happened for the rest of the night so, now I give you:

**The End** (of Chapter Two)


	3. Chapter Three

**Songs of Power  
Chapter Three**

**Disclaimer**: Don't own anything you recognize. Do own Mia, Ally and the plot.

**Shout-outs:**

Lalaith-Cat: Not deeply-detailed or intelligent, eh? Don't worry, neither am I.

mattb3671: Glad you like it! Thank YOU!

MuggleBuddy: No, she's not albino (red hair, remember?) but people make fun of her because they're idiots. People are like that. At one time I suppose people just figured she looked like a victim, or she was handy, or said the wrong thing at the wrong time... There could be any number of reasons.

Now for the actual chapter!:

The next day passed uneventfully. As before, Ally came home with Mia after school, where they proceeded to have a long, involved gossip chat about /everything/ that had happened since they had left.

"I'm thirsty," put in Ally. "I'm going downstairs to get a drink. Want anything?"

"No thanks," said Mia. "If you'll give me a second I'll find that sheet music for you, though."

"Great, thanks!" she said, and with that she was gone, going down the stairs happily. But some muffled noises behind a closed door piqued her interest. She was a nosy one, she was.

"You see, there's this girl I really like, but she won't look twice at me…" came Freddy's voice from behind said door.

Scott's voice, sounding slightly tense, came next. "How do you know, Freddy? You never know until you ask." The unspoken words that didn't follow, out loud at least, were 'but, in all probability she _isn't_ interested in you and we both know why'.

"Who is the girl?" came Kurt's voice, curious.

"Mrrmph," came the muffled reply.

"Speak louder," sighed Scott, massaging his temples. He didn't **like** Fred.

"Ally," said the voice, embarrassed, though louder this time.

"Ja, she is nice." Said Kurt, voice much warmer than Scott's.

"It's just, when I look at her it's like, like, she really _cares_ but I know she doesn't… and I love her, but I know that I don't deserve her, and I feel all hopeless but hopeful at the same time, sorta."

At this, Ally had heard enough. Barging in she commanded, voice firm, "Follow me, Freddy. Scott, you stay there. Fuzzy, come." And with that walked back out again, the two boys trailing behind her in a state of befuddlement on Kurt's part and embarrassed horror on Freds'.

Ally marched into the kitchen, grabbed two bottles of water and marched back upstairs, to Mia's room, which she knocked firmly on and then entered, grabbing a stack of music off the bed, telling Mia that "Something had come up," before leaving again, minus Kurt.

"Any idea vhat is going on?" he asked her.

"Hurricane Ally," said Mia. "Watch out, and hope it blows over. What happened?"

Ally marched outside, Freddy in wake, and into the woods, eventually choosing a smallish clearing next to a small stream. Sitting down she finally said, "So. You have something to tell me?"

Fred blushed heavily, mouthing "…no…"

"Well then. Want to go out on Friday evening?"

"What!?" he said, looking up in surprise.

"You heard what I said. Do you?"

"Why do you care?" he muttered sullenly, openly suspicious.

"Because I heard you talking and I don't know you. And I won't not get to know someone because of what they look like. And if I don't want to go on another date-ish-thing it'll be because of your character, not appearance. And I don't know you so I don't know if I won't like you. It makes sense."

"Why did you bring the music?"

"Because I'm obsessed. Also because I think that you can really get to know someone by their singing. The sheet music is a last resort. What songs do you know? Christmas carols are good. Yeah, that'll work…know the lines for the twelve days of Christmas?"

"Umm… I know the tune…but not the words…"

"Here you are. Oh dear," said Ally. "This is a bit of a surreal experience for you, isn't it? Well, that's the way I am. I have no problem with not liking someone. My problem is with not liking someone without knowing them. Have a hug," and with that she walked over and hugged him.

"Ally…" sighed Mia, who had just walked into the glade, a still-confused Kurt following. "You're confusing him. You're confusing me who's known you for who-knows-how-long, for the considerably detriment of my sanity."

"No, it's fine," said Fred, ducking his head again.

"Meinn Gott," muttered Kurt. He was stuck in the woods with crazy girls. This wasn't good for his peace of mind.

A silence fell for a few minutes. Then, "Let's try that singing now," put in Mia. "I haven't done my practice for today. Okay, Freddy, here's the rundown: we'll try to get one song right. You were going to start on the twelve days of Christmas because you all knew it? Fantastic. Okay, here's the words. Sing them so I can get a gauge on your range and skill."

"On the first day of Christmas," he began, shaky, then joined by Ally, her voice soaring above his as he gained confidence, Mia listening to both with a careful ear. About halfway through the song she stopped them.

"Okay. Let's see, pronunciation needs work, good range however, quick breathing course is all that's needed, but mostly all you need to work on is volume. I'm impressed. Almost nobody has this sort of form naturally…you're very gifted. Great voice that might even stay a tenor as you get older, which is quite a special thing, you know. Tenors are always in demand, followed by altos. There's always plenty of basses and sopranos."

"Breathing," put in Ally. "You breathe from your stomach area. That's where your diaphra**g**m is,"

"Wait a minute, wait a minute," said Mia. "Its diaphragm, with a silent g."

"But it's so much more fun with a hard g…diaphra**g**m, diaphra**g**m!"

"There's something wrong with you, dear," put in Mia with a odd look at her friend.

"Continuing," said Ally breezily. "Always breathe from there, otherwise you sound all high and squeaky…like this. Better breathe control is important! You shouldn't feel your shoulders rise when you take a deep breathe. Hold them still…there, that's it! And that should be enough for tonight… But I have to go now! See at school tomorrow!"

And...End! Another chapter soon. Reviews make me deliriously happy. Consider it a special holiday gift to me if you do.


	4. Chapter Four

Songs of Power  
Chapter Four

Disclaimer: Only own Mia'n'Ally. Rich people own everything else.

Mia woke up excited. Tonight was the choir concert to benefit charities, and she was really looking forward to it. She went happily down the stairs, a little bit of a spring in her step, very happy indeed.

She found herself some breakfast: a muffin with a glass of orange juice, and brought it out into Ororo's garden to enjoy her breakfast with the dawn. (A/N: No idea when it really is. Interpret time-the-sun-rises as you wish here)

She was surprised to meet Todd out so early in the same area. He had never struck her as the sit-out-in-the-winter-cold-to-watch-the-sunrise type, but he was there nonetheless.

"Oh, hello!" she said.

"Uh…Hi?" he responded doubtfully.

Mia wasn't sure what she thought of Todd, who smelled, if not down-right nasty, as least dubious, who looked like a toad or frog, who didn't even have a decent grasp of basic grammar.

Todd wasn't sure what he thought of Mia. She was the sort of girl to slap him for just looking at her the wrong way. Though she hadn't shown she actually she disliked him she was pretty enough, relatively intelligent, and normal looking. Utterly and completely normal. Of course she would hate him, or at the best be able to barely stand his company.

The silence they sat in was awkward, to say the least. Neither was sure of the other. Neither knew more than the very basic basics of the others personality. Not a good basis for sparkling conversation.

That was just fine for Mia. She wasn't in the mood for conversation at all, sparkling or otherwise. She just wanted to sit outside and watch the dawn come up, spreading cream, peach and gold through the dove-gray satin of the sky, then palest sea-shell pink.

"So…Why are yo' out here?" asked Todd finally when he couldn't stand the silence any longer. If he got slapped he'd at least have a good reason to leave.

"I just like the sunrise…"

"I know. It's like the beginnings of a new day, yo…I like it in winter when it stains the trees golden in the first light…"

"Yeah, I know…"

Todd sneaked a look over at Mia. She wasn't looking at him, but she had responded to him, positively even…

"Happy to see the end of school for a whole blissful two weeks?" asked Mia dreamily.

"**Hell** yeah."

"Me too. I'll miss choir, though…won't caroling tonight be fun?"

"Yeah, I guess…I dunno, choir ain't my thing…"

_This _made Mia look at him. "I've seen you in choir, you look like you love it. Don't try that junk with someone who knows better."

"Okay, okay…geeze…"

"Good. Want to practice with me and Ally after school on weekdays? Freddy is too, and Kitty. It'd be good to get to know you better. I can't say I really know all that much about you."

The sudden silence unnerved Mia. Had she said something she shouldn't have? Insulted him? Had he just left…? She risked a glance over.

Todd was shocked. A person—a **girl**—had said she wanted to get to know him better. He saw her looking over, a nervous look on her face, and quickly said "Uh…sure. I mean, of course, yo."

"Great! Talk to you about it at lunch? I need to go find my choir folder before school, I was practicing last night. See you later!"

"Uh…see you?"

Todd sighed deeply, his whole world shaken. Someone had indicated interest in him…true, it wasn't much, and Mia _was_ friendly to everyone, but still…

That morning as Mia left the Institute, in a hurried, school-day rush, she noticed with a bit of surprise that there seemed to be an inordinate number of squirrels in the trees around the school, all chanting in high-pitched voices…Oh well. Maybe her muffin had been off.

A/N: Expect further insanity in the next chapter. This is for you, MuggleBuddy! I was sorta surprised you liked it... I have an _ahem _"unique" sense of humor.

As always, reviews are unto me as gods.


	5. Chapter Five: Squirrely Madness

**Songs of Power**

**Chapter Five**

**A/N: **This is for MuggleBuddy for being a great reviewer who appreciates my sense of humor! Actually, when I saw the review about the crazy bits in one chapter I immediately thought, 'Now, what is the epitome of my sense of humor?' and lo and behold, I was answered: squirrels. This is the inspiration for this section of my crazy (and pretty lousy) fic. Have fun!

**Shout-outs:**

**MuggleBuddy:** This chapter is for you! Happy holidays as well! And that goes to all my other loverly readers out there!

**TheLegendaryManHimself:** You're right, I should go into it. So: because I am an insane, yet all-powerful, author, I decided that Magneto nevercaught chicken pox in his childhood, meaning he has no immunity. He _did_ catch it, however, later on in life, meaning he went through a severe infection that killed him. Therefore, he never went for world domination, the brotherhood was never formed, and Xavier found everyone.

**Animejunkie1008: **Why thank you! At first I was sort of worried that she would be mixed up with Banshee or they would just be too similar (nothing bothers me more than OCs obviously based on another character; I see it as a way that people get away from finding any originality in the story. Grrrr... ::glares angrily at people who do so::) but I'm glad you think I didn't connect them too well! Thanks again!

**LalaithCat:** Yes. Squirrels. Funfun! And please spare me the rubber chickens… ::nervous glance at ceiling::

**hehehaha:** Why thank you! She'll meet them… very very soon. Yes, in the next section, which I already have written, so I can post it within the day. Probably.

**Disclaimer: **Don't own it. All of it. Excluding Mia and Ally and the squirrels and the shattered remains of the plot. Mattb3671 owns Mally. Somebody else owns everything else.

**Now for the actual thing!**

As Mia sat in second period English that day she was phenomenally bored. The teacher, if you could call her that, was so utterly stupid and close-minded that she managed to take the fun out of even free writing. She also had a severe inability to make what she was talking about even minimally interesting; the lady was one of those people with an innate talent to put people to sleep within five sentences.

This was why Mia paid no mind to the high shrill voices that started chanting "Burn them, burn them!" off in the distance. She had had auditory hallucinations before; this would be fairly mild compared to what her mind normally concocted during yet another rant under the guise of a lecture. However, when it started to get louder and other students started staring about themselves, she started to give them more credit.

"Whoever that is, stop that infernal chanting!" snapped the teacher. "You sound like deranged squirrels!"

And that was when a shrill, high-pitched voice spoke up from her desk. "How interesting! You see, I AM a deranged squirrel! This school is next on our slate for world domination! Cower in fear of my flame-thrower chipmunk army of doom!"

"Next?" asked a student somewhere in the back of the room. He was remarkably unworried about talking squirrels attempting to attain dictatorial control of his English class. This may have had more to do with the several dubious concoctions he had purchased prior to the period than with the situation itself, however. Everyone else was shaking in their seats or, in the case of the Institute kids, merely worried. Except for Forge, who had his head in his hands and was muttering, "Oh no, not again."

"We have already gained control of the capitol!" announced the squeaky voice, its owner scrambling into view on top of a stack of vindictively graded papers. It was indeed a squirrel; it had on a little crown carved out of acorn shells and covered with discarded gum wrappers, the silvery kind.

"Well, that accounts for the recent election," sighed a random student in the class.

"Get off my desk you rodent!" snapped the teacher.

"RODENT!?!" Yelled the squirrel. "How dare you call me rodent, inferior human! You have insulted me, and you shall pay! Get them, troops! You heard how she insulted your glorious leader! Now cower, humans, cower in front of my majesty! Feel my ultimate power!"

"I'm feeling something, all right,"whispered Mia to Ally as several squirrels in camo gear jumped from the ceiling. They were holding miniature machine guns.

"This is... surreal..." muttered Ally back as several Nutka ground squirrels (1) dressed entirely in black holding miniature weapons launched themselves onto the teacher from the ductwork in the classroom.

"But better than 'The Catcher in the Rye,' you must admit." grinned Mia. "Wonder what's happening in the other classes?"

Principal Kelly was an unhappy man. And, as unhappy men are wont to do, or at least of his breed, he had decided to drown his sorrows. Currently he's in his daily session with the school counseler.

"But I'm a good person!" he blubbered. "What did I do to deserve this? What? **What**!?"

"Shhh, it's okay," soothed the counselor, who then took a surreptitious drink himself from the bottle he had inside his desk. Ever since the sessions with the principal had started he had started drinking earlier and earlier in the day. He really didn't need these sort of pressures.

The counselor was alerted to a change in the proceedings by a few seconds of unprecedented quiet. "What?" he asked, unused to a blessed reprieve from the ceaseless moaning of his immediate superior.

"There's a squirrel on your shoulder," said Kelly. "It has a gun."

The counselor gave the principal a worried glance. It was obvious that he had been under a lot of pressure recently, but this was ridiculous! The man hadn't drunken that much yet, had he? And it was too early for a total mental breakdown of this level, complete with hallucinations, wasn't it? He certainly hoped so, but now he wasn't too sure...

And then his train of thought was interrupted by a squeaky voice saying, "We have your secretary under our control and your coffee held ransom! Surrender, fools!"

Under a strange compulsion he turned his head. There was a furry ball of fluff on his shoulder. Sure enough, it had a gun. 'Well,' he thought, 'Kelly won't be alone in the high security ward.' And that was when he passed out.

Let's take a moment to recap: the home ec room is on fire, several classrooms of children have completely and totally panicked and made successful bids for freedom and fresh air, several other classes have barricaded themselves across the room from the invading fluffballs, several classes are waging war with chalk board erasors, pencils and paste, the anger management support group is currently burning a few would-be invaders and doing even worse things to the others, and the x-men are internallly debating whether or not to defend the school from, of all things, squirrels. Not sentinels, or other-dimensional demons, or power-crazed megalomaniacs, but squirrels. With chipmunk sidekicks. Riding on bunny rabbits and crows.

Back in second period English with Ally, Mia and Forge, (who needs to pass the class to graduatefrom it legally but doesn't need to learn anything from it because he already knows it all. I mean, he is a 30-odd year old genius.) Mia is currently grilling Forge on his remark.

"What do you mean, 'again'?" she asked, a dangerous glint in her eye.

"Well, I sorta created another dimension-crossing device a while ago," he said.

"And let me guess," she said, her voice icy. "You summoned demon squirrels bent on world dominance?"

"Um, well, no. I summoned a really stupid demon who decided this world would be more interesting if the wild life was a bit... inventive."

"I can see where this's going," said Ally with a sigh.

"So he installed parts of himself in all the squirrels. This is the second time this has happened."

"So, how do we hold them off?"

"Those birdfeeders designed so squirrels can't eat the seeds out of them. We dig a pit down underneath them, dangle them from a tree branch, and watch the little creatures fall to there doom."

"Why would they do that?" asked Ally.

"Something about how their "improved intelligence" would prevail over our "idiotic human ideas". I think its something to do with what they call "smarmy feather-faces" lording it over them how they get fed sunflower seeds and suet while all they get are stale peanuts."

"My life is _sooo_ in need of a reality check," sighed Mia.

Soon the school has been evacuated, though the x-men are left on the scene to save the day from the hands of villainy! Or at least the Bayville highschool from the hands (paws?) of squirrels. Either way, they are not happy about it.

"Why on earth are we needed to defeat squirrels?" demanded Amara on the ride over in the x-van.

"I don't know; that's a good question," said Jean, a dangerous look coming into her eyes. "Professor, why **are** we required to defeat an army of squirrels, pray tell? And don't tell me that it will improve human-mutant relations, because the only 'improvement' will be to make us a laughing-stock instead of a so-called 'menace'."

"Because there isn't any one else to do it," said the Professor with a sigh. "Will you please just do it, Jean? There really aren't any other options."

"Looks like we're here," commented Bobby. Slowly they disembarked, glancing about.

"You know, the sudden lack of squirrels has me at least worried," said Mia. "Seeing as there was hundreds in the trees earlier this morning."

"A remarkably astute observation," said Hank, glancing over the trees. "Perhaps they are in the school building?"

"Nope," said Jean. "I've done a mindscan and I can't seem to sense anything anywhere near here..."

Suddenly, with a screaming warcry hundreds of squirrels leaped from the trees. "How the hell did squirrels come up with telepathy-blocking devices?" demanded Jean. "I mean, they're only squirrels!"

"Only squirrels! Only squirrels!" huffed a squeaky voice. "How dare you call me that! Bow before me human!"

"Shut up, hairball!" she screamed, throwing the rodent into a tree with her telekinesis. It hit with a sickening crunch before falling to the ground with a final squeak.

"That was gross," remarked Tabby. "That sound it made when it hit the tree."

"Don't talk about it," squeaked Jean, her hands over her mouth.

And with a sudden pop all the squirrels disappeared.

"Somebody tell me that was all a dream?" asked Kitty plaintively.

"I'm still bleeding from where one of those little bastards bit me!" exclaimed Lance.

"I don't think hallucinations draw blood," commented Mia.

"My theory is that the lead squirrel was the one dependent on keeping all the other squirrels here in this dimension after they were altered by the demon," said Forge, "therefore, his death causes them to be dragged back to the demon's reality."

"Thank God," put in Jean fervently.

"I am going to have nightmares for weeks," moaned Kurt. "I mean, demonic squirrels…"

At this point Principal Kelly stormed back onto the school grounds. "I hate you freaks! And because I hate you, you're going to school for the rest of the day no matter what! Somebody start getting the kids out of the school broom closet and off the fields! It's only fourth period! God, I need a drink."

And classes soon resumed. Except for that Mia's class needed a new teacher, as the old one is currently experiencing squirrel-related difficulties.

(1) I went to Yellowstone once; our campground was overrun with these little devil-squirrels called Nutka Ground Squirrels. And they were suicidal. Let's just say they've had a major impact on my life and leave it at that, okay?

**A/N**: And that's the end of the madness! Only for you, MuggleBuddy! Or anyone else who reviews frequently and asks nicely, but that's besides the point.

Anyways, more is coming soon, and huge changes happen! Dun dun dun…! You're not expecting this! Probably. And you're **certainly** not expecting what happens after that, unless you're even more of a lost case than I am…


	6. Chapter Six: Aforementioned Plot Twists

**Songs of Power, Chapter Six**

**Shout-outs:**

Mattb3671: Ducks, eh? For me its seagulls after my frenchfries. I have a friend who was traumatized by a pigeon that walked up her leg after her sandwich. I know another person who had all their chocolate stolen on a camping trip by a chipmunk; to this day she hasn't forgiven the species as a whole. Anyways, I could go on and on about scary woodland animals, but I won't. Anyways, THANK YOU! for your review! You make my day happy!

MuggleBuddy: I'm glad you liked your special chappie! I hope you like this one too! And you know what, trust me on this one, you're definitely NOT the only one to think of taking over the world with squirrels. I personally can name five people, not including myself, so there you have it... We must all be geniuses! After all, great minds think alike! :)

**Disclaimer:** I do not own anything recognizable in any way, shape or form. The tattered remains of what passes for a plot _are_ mine, as is Dr. Gonnal, Luke, Ally, Mia and Ben. Mally is Mattb3671s. And, of course, his own. Thanks, Matt and Mally!

**Now that that's out of the way, the story!:**

That night at the choir concert:

Mia nervously walked to the center of the stage, her long black skirt swishing and rippling around her ankles. Her ivory shirt caught the light and glimmered, and, taking a deep breath, she began to sing.

Her voice started out surprisingly low, though it soon soared to a piercingly clear higher note. The words faded into insignificance with the captivating movements of the melody; the audience was enchanted by her voice.

And then it was over, though it seemed like a sudden blur that took just seconds to Mia. She took her bow and exited, shaking slightly from nerves. She was met by Ally in the wings off the stage.

"That was fantastic!" the red-head gushed. "You know what this means, however," she added, face suddenly mock serious.

"I challenge you!" They grinned simultaneously.

Half an hour later we find the choir out caroling. They've just finished the first house when Jean becomes suddenly distracted. Mentally she says to Ororo, **I can sense the thoughts of a new mutant behind the house across the street. Can you get her or him for me? They're scared and alone; I think it's parents abandoned it.**

**Okay,** responded the weather witch mentally, then turned and left, first explaining to the choir director that she had to return to the Institute because a "difficult situation had arisen."

An uneventful hour-and-a-half later that I will not write about because it is boring, we find Mia and Ally facing each other on the dark lawn of the Institute. They're taking part in a competition of sorts they have had several times: a contest to see who can out-sing the other. Ally starts, singing out a complicated string of notes. Mia copies her, and then responds with a harder bit of tune. Ally responds to that, then Mia, then Ally, etc. It would have continued indefinitely, but at this point Wolverine showed up.

Smelling two unfamiliar scents he stalked through a hedge up to the two girls, claws extended.

"Who're you?" he growled as he came up behind Mia, making Ally jump and Mia, who had been singing, to break off in a short scream.

At her screech, not controlled because of her shock, a nearby tree turned into a little puddle of tree. And Mia clasped her hands over her mouth and burst into silent tears. Ally rushed over and threw her arms around her friend, glaring venomously at Logan. Still holding Mia she turned quickly around and stalked off back to the Institute.

"Damn," muttered Logan, head in his hands. This had not gone well. So much for a good first impression.

In the kitchen chaos was happening. Ororo was trying to do the dishes, Hank was checking over the new boy Ororo had found while curious people hovered, Mia was being comforted by Ally, Kurt and Jean, another new student Wolverine had brought in was sitting by himself in a dark corner. Tabby, Ray and Amara were fighting over something trivial, Lance and Scott were just fighting, and the Professor was trying to talk to Wolverine about the new student he had brought in, Mia and her over-reaction, and the state of the Institute in general.

"That is enough!" He finally called over the uproar. "Tabby, Lance, Ray, Amara, Scott, stop fighting and leave the room. Anyone bothering the new students, please leave as well. Jean, Kurt and Ally, you may stay with Mia. Storm, leave the dishes for now, we can get them in the morning. Logan, Mia overreacted because she went through a long period of time when she couldn't speak due to an uncontrolled mutation. She's over that for the most part, but losing control is still a possibility that frightens her. Hank, is the new recruit okay?"

"Yes. He's a bit shocked, but that's understandable. She should be fine in a few days."

"Good. Now why don't we all get some sleep? It's been a long day, what with the squirrels and everything..."

"You're right. Goodnight!" called out Jean as she left, Kurt porting away with a bamf.

Eventually everyone in the Institute fell asleep, Ally on the floor of Mia and Rogues' room, and peace was on earth. Sorta.

The next morning the professor dropped the bombshell.

Over breakfast he made an announcement. "I've noticed that some of you are not fitting into the Institute as well as I might have hoped. For this reason I've asked an old friend of mine, Dr. Robert Gonnal, to take some of you to a new school that will have a less… orthodox teaching style. I will notify those of you that will be going over the course of the day."

At the end of that day the students are in the living room, draped over various articles of furniture, and the ceiling in Kurt's case.

"So who going?" asked Kitty.

"Lance, Fred, Todd, Remy, Rogue, Tabby and the two new kids," responded Multiple promptly.

"What is the deal with the new kids?" asked another person. "Anybody know what there powers are yet?"

"Well, ones an electrokinetic," said Jubilee.

"I don't think even the Professor knows what the other one is," said Bobby. "I heard him talking about it with Logan. See his mutation only half kicked in. It's really weird."

"It'll be weird having Rogue gone," said Roberto.

"Yeah, but I'll _love_ having Lance gone," muttered Scott. "The only trick is how to have a party without the Professor finding out…"

"I have to admit I won't miss anyone either than Rogue and Remy much," said Jean silently to Scott. "It's about time the Professor pruned out the deadwood, so to speak. Those three boys at least are an evolutionary back alley in the brains department."

At this point Mia walked in. "I'll be leaving with Rogue, Remy and the rest," she announced.

"What!" gasped Jean. "You're not a sick freak like any of them! Why did the Professor ask **you** to leave?"

"He didn't. I asked him to leave." Said Mia calmly. "I prefer a looser environment." And with that she turned and left.

"I'll miss her, at least," said Kitty. "She's fun! And the backbone alto in choir. I wonder who's going to, like, hold them up now?"

"I did switch to alto, Kitty," snapped Jean.

"Jean, you're great at everything and everything, but Mia is totally a better singer than you. Your not bad, your just not, like, great and Mia is, like, the best singer I have ever heard."

"Ooooh, looks like Jean isn't perfect at everything," loudly whispered Tabby, who had just walked in, to Rahne, who giggled. Jean shot them aglare, only aggravating the laughter. And eventually people dispersed and life was back to whatever passes for normalcy in the Xavier Institute.

**A/N**: Next chapter involves insanity beyond imagine! I told you crazy things would happen in this chapter, and they did. People are leaving! Including Mia! My reasons are as follows: Certain people do not strike me as Institute people. These people were put in the Brotherhood for that reason. I mixed them in with the Institute people because Magneto is dead in my strange universe (see last chapter) but that doesn't mean they fit in. This is an alternative to power-crazed megalomaniacs bent on genetic superiority. Y'see, I _like _B-hood and wanted to use them. Remy never struck me as an x-man as well, and I didn't feel like splitting up him'n'Rogue, therefore she's leaving. This is just the way I did things, m'kay? Wanda and Pietro haven't showed up yet in this story and Acolytes may be introduced later. The Next Chapter (yes, it is deserving of the CAPITALS) will introduce Ben and Lucas more fully as well as my strange brand of patented insanity.

Till then, REVIEW! Remember, the little, erm, periwinkle button is your friend. Prove your friendship true by reviewing, even if only an anonymous one. They make me happy too. I mean, really peoples, how hard can it be to type out, 'this sucked'? Or (unlikely) 'I actually liked this!' ?


	7. Chapter Seven

**Songs of Power Chapter Seven**

**Disclaimer:** I own Mia, Ally, Dr. Gonnal, Ben and Lucas. Mattb3671 owns Mally. Somebody rich owns everyone else. (Hmmm, that sounds rather wrong...)

**Shout-Outs:  
**Mattb3671: Hey there! Glad to see you're back to writing! I love your story, so it makes me happy! I'm also happy you don't mind me messing with anything even remotely normal and skewing it according to my own flawed view of the world... Also, THANKS!

MuggleBuddy: Well, the new kids are explained in this chapter! I hope you like them! I'm happy you like my story. Thank you for your faithful reviews! Feel free to drop me an email whenever you're bored!

LalaithCat: Hey there, Lali! Here are a whole bunch of question marks (I have lots and then some spares) so you don't run out. Gambit is awsome, as are altos!

**On with the ficcage!**

The next day the two new students introduced themselves to the Institute at breakfast.

"Who're you" asked Lucas, who was sitting next to Mia.

"I'm Mia," she said. "The person on the other side of me is Ally. Do you, perchance, sing at all"

"No, I can't say I do. Why do you ask?" responded the bemused new student, brushing a loose strand of blond hair out of his ice-green eyes. He would have looked very Scandinavian if not for the extremely tan skin.

"Well, I love singing, myself. I'm always looking for new recruits for the Choir. Which is, perhaps not coincidentally, my reason for asking. What's your mutation?"

"You have no idea how weird it is to hear that question in an every-day situation," said Luke. "Anyways, I'm an electrokinetic; I can control energy, channel it, shape it to my will, take it from other sources, like storm clouds, computers and other electrical junk. Only thing is, I can't create it myself." As an afterthought he added"Also my hair turned blonde; it used to be black. My eyes used to be blue."

"You'd do well on a team with Ororo or Ray," said Jubilee, who'd been listening in. "They can both create electricity. Or lightning, in Storm's case. By the way, I'm Jubilee. I can shoot fire-work type things out of my hands."

"Really? Cool. I can't create anything, just control it. What do you do, Mia?"

"I already told you" she said dryly. "I sing."

"No, I mean your mutation."

"Ignore her, she's messing with you" said Rahne. "She can melt things with her voice."

"And who're you" asked a slightly-overwhelmed Lucas.

"I'm Rahne" she said with a grin. "Code-named Wolfsbane. I'm the Institute's resident werewolf."

"Reeallly..."

On the other side of the room the other new kid, Ben, was talking to Jean and Scott. He was completely bundled in several coats, a thick pair of pants, snow boots, scarf, mittens and hat. The only visible features were a shock of light-brown hair and slightly darker brown eyes.

"So" said Jean kindly. "What are your powers"

Ben looked slightly embarrassed. "I'm cold all the time."

"You mean you can create ice like Bobby" asked Scott.

"No" sighed the boy. "It means I'm cold. As far as anyone can tell my mutation has had no physical effects, new gifts or anything. Except to make me really, really cold. All the time."

"Oh." said Jean, brow wrinkling slightly. Ben was the first mutant she had met that didn't have any practical uses to their gift. "Why"

"Dr. McCoy says that it's a bit of a gimmick. I'm partly changed, which was enough to alert Cerebro to me, but it hasn't had its full effect on me yet. I'm sorta caught in an intermediate stage."

"Uh..." said Jean again. Now that THAT detail had been brought to light, she didn't feel like discussing her and Scott's gifts. It just wouldn't be fair.

"Oh, don't look so embarrassed." said Ben amiably. "It's not your fault and there's nothing you can do to change it. Anyways, what's your gift"

The day passed without remark. Ditto the next week, until that Saturday, when the students who would be leaving left.

A week later, two days after Christmas, the x-jet landed just long enough to let out Mia, Fred, Todd, Lance, Rogue, Tabby, Remy, Ben and Lucas (the new kids) and, surprisingly, Ally.

"I believe I know who all of you are," said a man, presumably Dr. Gonnal, striding over, "except for you, dear. What's your name?"

"I'm Ally and, um, I'm not a mutant. It's a long story but pretty much Professor Xavier now has custody of me and sent me along with Mia who's one of long-time friends. It's not a problem, is it?"

_Flashback: "Your school report said that you did not have a good home life" Xavier stated, the question directed at Ally. The two were sitting in his office._

_"My mother has always abused me and my younger siblings. My father didn't intervene when he was alive; my stepfather helps her if he's drunk enough" she stated, head bowed. _

_"If you would like it I could take custody" he stated. "I've asked your parents, and they believe it may be for the better as well. The papers are already signed."_

_A terse nod of the head was the only answer he got. "I will sign them. I believe it will be for the better if you go with Dr. Gonnal, along with Mia."_

_"I'll go" said Ally with a sigh. An awkward silence fell for a few seconds._

_"Do you have any other questions" asked Professor Xavier finally._

_"My parents didn't care if you took custody, did they" said Ally. The silence signaled the affirmative answer to the question._

_Ally's face was somehow relieved. _

Back to normal time:

"That's fine! It's very nice to meet all of you! Inside you'll find one other student I recruited earlier."

They all walked up the long graveled path to the building, silent except for the crunching sounds their feet made and a quiet, tuneless humming from Ally. "Will you stop that" Tabby finally snapped.

"Sorry" she said guiltily. "It's sorta a reflex. Nervous habit kinda thing." Silence fell once more.

In the entryway was a shadowy figure, apparently waiting for them. It was misshapen on first sight, with strange protrusions, but as the person came into the light, it became apparent she had wings, thoughvery different from Angels' wings; these were less like, well, angels' wings, and more like a birds; they started at her shoulder blades, then went down to approximately her knees before curving back up to fold neatly across her back.

They were feathered in a smoky black with a blue sheen to it, very drab until she came into the light to expose the slight iridescence. The feathering continued along the tops of her arms and her back, disappearing into her hairline, which was black and framed her wide, round golden eyes.

The girl broke the mysterious beauty she presented, backlit by the floor-to-ceiling windows on the other side, by announcing "Hi! I'm Sarah!" In a cheery tone of voice.

After everyone had introduced themselves (I'm not typing it out. Absolutely and definitely not.) Sarah offered to show them around their new home.

"So you can fly" asked Ally as they walked along. To her surprise Sarah blushed a deep, deep red.

"Ummm... I'm afraid of heights. Really, really really afraid of heights. I don't know if I can fly because I'm too nervous to get off the ground."

"Ohhhh..." said Mia. "Yeah, that would be a problem."

"I can understand how you feel," put in Ben, who was still wearing a thick coat, though he had taken off his gloves. "As far as I can tell, the only thing my mutation's done is make me really, really cold. All the time."

"Where're all you guys from?" she asked after a few awkward seconds of silence. "By the way, we're passing the kitchen now."

"Remy be from New Orleans."

"Me and Ally're from Washington."

"DC or the state"

"State."

"Really? Me too. What part? I'm from Tacoma."

"Poor dear. We're Islanders; Mercer kids, to be exact."

"Well, it's really different weather down here. Other than that, it's pretty nice."

"What's the best advantage?" asked Ally.

"February. I still remember how depressing it got," shuddered the winged girl.

"Oh yeah, I remember..." said Mia with a responsive shiver. "Ironic, isn't it, how the shortest month took the longest to past…"

"What's wrong with Tacoma?" asked Lance.

"The paper mills," said Sarah with a sigh (1). "All of Tacoma smells like sewage. Pretty place, what with Mount Rainier and all, as long as you've never been there. (2) Hey, here's the rooms! We each get our own, or at least until there's more students here. That's the boy's wing, this is the girls'."

Soon bedrooms were allotted. Mia found hers to be very nice, spacious and sunny. A window was soon opened, letting in a nice breeze that smelled of wind and wide-open places and sunshine, and the walls, a pale cream, shone in the light. She soon had set up her stuff, nothing much but a couple of posters. (It would have looked very typical for a teenage room, except they were all for choirs.) She put her CD collection by the thoughtfully provided CD player, put sheet music on the shelves, clothes in drawers and was done.

She went next door, where Ally had done much the same thing. After that they went next door once more to Sarah's room, where they found her sitting on the bed. Her room was fairly plain, nothing on the walls but some pictures of Sarah hiking (generally with a look of horror on her face and staring at the edge of the cliff the trail climbed as if it would sneak up on her) and pictures of her looking much cheerier kayaking (3), wielding her paddle happily. (4)

"You kayak?" asked Ally, looking at the pictures.

"I used to. It's lots of fun. Dr. Gonnal has agreed to fly the jet out to Washington one day soon, though."

"How is Dr. Gonnal?" said Mia.

"He's pretty cool. A bit helter-skelter, but pretty nice."

"Do you know if he's a mutant?"

"He's a slight empath, nothing much. How's Professor Xavier? We'll be going there Saturdays, apparently."

"Oh, good!" said Mia happily. "You'll like it at the Institute; everybody's really nice. **And **it'll give us a chance to collaborate with Kitty and Jean on songs."

"Say what?" said Sarah.

"Oh, right. I'm rather obsessed with choir, along with Ally. It's more than my mutation; I've always loved to sing. Fortunately I've learned ways to sing normally. I assume you got a briefing packet about our team members?"

Sarah nodded an affirmative and, after a little while more of nice conversation, they all at dinner and then went bed. (5)

(1) Hey! Alliteration, and cool at that!

(2) For the record, this is true. Ditto Fort Worden.

(3) A kayak is a small boat, rather similar in size to a canoe. It is closed, and you sit in the bottom of it with your legs tucked into either side, parallel to the bottom. It sits very low in the water, and makes some people nervous for this reason; however, it is one of the most stable small boats you can have, despite a tendency towards alarming rocking. This particular one is an ocean-going kayak, much longer than a river kayak, and considerably more stable, though less maneuverable.

(4) Do not—EVER—call what you propel a kayak with an oar. It is a paddle. Pronouncing it wrong will get you whacked with aforementioned instrument, as I have had the unfortunate experience to learn first-hand.

(5) In two strait lines… Sorry! I've had lines from Madeline stuck in my head for forever and a day.

A/N: I'm posting the next chapter in the very near future. Hoped you liked this one! It's getting stranger...: evil grimace:.


	8. Chapter Eight

**Songs of Power Chapter Eight**

**Disclaimer: **Ally, Mia, Ben, Lucas, Sarah, all the new teachers and Dr. Gonnal are all mine. Anyone else recognizable is someone elses's.

**Shout-outs**:  
Mattb3671: Thank YOU! For everything, first and foremost lots of reviews! Glad to see you're back!

MuggleBuddy: Madeline issues? Can't say I blame you. She can be on the frightening side... That Bad Hat character always made me nervous as a child. I though he'd hurt my doggie.

bant: I'm so glad you like it! It's always nice to have someone new show up and leave me a review. Thanks so much!

LalaithCat: Hah, Mercer, indeed!

iamhollywood: Quite frankly, I'm amazed at the number of responses I got back about squirrels. And slightly frightened. Ah well... I'm glad you like my characterization! Very nice indeed!

To Everyone, from The Choir Gang (Ally, Mia, Todd and Fred) And the Assorted OCs: Thank you for reviews! We're glad you like us people from the depths of Read's mind! Read and review again soon!

**The Fic:**

The next morning everyone woke up at more or less the same time and dragged themselves downstairs to scrounge for breakfast. There was muffins laid out, along with fruit, juice and other breakfasty items that wouldn't spoil.

Later, suitably fed and watered, they all—Ally, Mia, Fred, Todd, Lance, Tabby, Ben, Lucas, Remy, Rogue and Sarah—wandered off vaguely in search of Dr. Gonnal.

They found him walking around outside, comparing a building in the process of construction with a rumpled set of blueprints in his hands. "Oh, hello!" he said once he noticed the group. "I see you're up. Good; you're new teachers are due to arrive soon. Why don't we go wait for them in the main building?"

"New teachers? Cool." Said Sarah.

"Are we going to be staying here or going to a public school for actual schooling?" asked Ally.

"Well, most of you were brought here because you don't fit into a traditional school environment. It wouldn't make much sense to put you into another public school then, would it?"

"Good point." Conceded Rogue.

"Will there be a choir teacher?" asked Ally, Mia, Todd, Fred and, surprisingly, Ben simultaneously.

"Yes. Charles told me that some of you were particularly interested in the subject, and so it's been made a part of the general curriculum. You're _all_ going to be in choir."

Remy looked shocked, though the expression slid fairly quickly into horror. "Choir?" he said incredulously. "Remy be a thief."

"Shut it, Swamp Rat," muttered Rogue. "Ah'll have to sing too, you know."

"And I'm sure my Cherie will sing beautifully," soothed Gambit, earning him a backhanded slap from a gloved hand. "Ow…" Rogue gave a satisfied smirk.

Gonnal chose to ignore this and walked in the direction of the school, students following like the tail of a comet. They were shown into a large living-room type space, pretty typical in its shelves of books and such, TV, cushy couch, other assorted furnitures and the like.

Soon after everyone was settled down chatting companionably or ignoring astutely, depending on personality. This was interrupted by the entrance of a new teacher.

"I'd like you to meet Cynthia Rodds, aka Glimmer. She'll be our English teacher for your stay here. Glimmer, your new students." Introduced Dr. Gonnal

"Hello!" Glimmer said cheerily. "It's going to be great fun teaching you!"

"I don't think she's ready for this," whispered Sarah to Lance.

"I give her a week," he whispered back.

"My mutant ability is to create will'o'th'whisps 1! They're really pretty and hypnotizing and people seem as if they can't help but follow them!" she continued. "In English we'll start with a type of book the majority of you like, then we'll read some ones you sound as if you might like. What do you like to read?" she said with sugary smile, directed at Ally. "I just finished reading Where the Redfern Grows; it was good. Have you ever read it?"

"Uh-oh," sang Mia under her breath.

"Personally," said Ally, her voice cold, "I have not read that book, if you can call it that, because I was finishing reading 'The complete guide to advanced musical theory'."

"Oh," said Glimmer, deflating slightly. "What do you like to read, dear?"

"I read action and adventure books," said Sarah dignifiedly.

"Me too," said Todd.

"I like science fiction," said Fred off-handly.

"I like gothic horror," said Rogue with a smirk.

"Remy like a good romance," he said with a wink towards Rogue, who glared at him before whacking him across the face.

"I don't." said Tabby.

"I read science fiction too," said Ben.

"And I like high fantasy," put in Lucas.

"I like historical fiction, the good bloody ones." Said Mia, "As well as music-related books."

A doorbell rang somewhere else in the mansion. Looking relieved, the teacher let the students out of the classroom before turning sadly around and wiping off "The Wizard of Oz" and "Princess Diaries" of the chalk board.

Nathan Smithson 2, the new teacher, was next to step into the room. He was greeted by a horde 3 of mismatched students. "Um, hello," he said upon facing the group, all staring intently at him.

"Before we let you any farther in, what do you like to read?" asked Sarah, a dangerous glint in her eyes.

"Mostly science books..." he said cautiously, nervous because he had a winged girl giving him the Spanish Inquisition. "Why?"

"The teacher who got here before you liked truly idiotically terrible books," she said with disgust. "What's more, she wanted us to read them." The venomous glares from the other students indicated their opinions about this.

"Well, I don't think there's a girly fluff version of science," he said slowly.

"Oh good. Do we get to destroy things?" the girl with wings asked him.

"Probably. What's your name?"

"I'm Sarah. What's yours?"

"Nathan Smithson. Good to meet you."

"Great." And with that she ran off, dragging Mia and Ally with her. Tabby shrugged and followed them, leaving Lance, Todd, Fred, Remy, Ben and Lucas standing in the living room with Nathan. Rogue had disappeared a while ago.

Soon the new teacher was left on his own in the hallways, some of the boys having wandered off to the basketball courts or the TV, and the others to their rooms.

The history teacher was the next staff member to arrive. "Hello," he said to Dr. Gonnal as he met him in the entryway. "Did you know there's a nearly dead person at your gate?"

"Umm, no, I can't say I knew that," he responded, shocked. Walking down the drive he was shocked to find the very bruised, battered body of Sabretooth. Though he had a healing factor he was so badly hurt that it was obvious that the healing factor alone wouldn't be enough; he was half a step from dying.

"I have an ethics question for you," he said to the history teacher, who had accompanied him. "If there's a dying homicidal assassin on your porch who needs medical attention, what do you do? Call the police, help him or kill him for the deaths of presumably hundreds of innocent people?"

"Help him, obviously." said a new person, striding over. "I'm John, the medic. I'm afraid, homicidal or not, the doctor's code requires I attend him. You have a med lab, right?" He asked, picking up the person bodily with his close-to-seven-foot, heavily muscled frame.

"Ah yes, you're the empath, right?" he asked.

"That's me!" the man responded cheerily.

"Follow me and I'll show you our hospital area."

**A/N**: Oh god, I am such a sick twisted individual. That comes later, though.

1 Will'o'th'whisps, in real life, are part fairytale/folktale, partly natural phenomenon. They're caused in marshes by rotting material producing various gases, which then burn. They tend to be a pale blue/green/white/lavender, not particularly fire-colored. The myth part is that people would end up entranced by them and sink to their doom in the swamp. Other variants include being driven insane by them; I dunno if the product of Glimmers' mutation will do that, but she will. ;) For the record, she's not modeled after one person but rather several. She's too horrific to come from my own mind.

2 A long time ago, people used to be named after their professions. Therefore, Smithson means "Smith's Son", or the son of the smith. That persons' father would be Blankitty Smith. What happened is that people would move to a place where the surname would be inherited, instead of individual, and it would be passed down long after all the smiths and sons of smiths did different things.

3 This fits very nicely. I believe it applies, given the potential destructive power of them. And the propensity for chaos.


	9. Chapter Nine: The Author loses it, perma...

**Songs of Power,** Chapter Nine: Insanity beyond belief

**A/N**: This is dedicated to **bant **for being a wondermous newreviewer. Thanks, bant! Hope this is soon enough for you! Extra huggles to everyone who continues to read and especially review after my latest deviation from the Land of the Sane...

**Disclaimer: **Sarah, Mia, Ally, Ben, Lucas, Dr. Gonnal, other teachers are mine. Everyone else is someone else's. Easy peasy method: if you recognize, not mine.

**Shout-Outs:**  
MuggleBuddy: Glimmer scares me just as much as she does you, trust me. She is evil... so, so evil... And she probably won't base what they read off of preferences; she was just asking so she could see if anyone else liked what she sees as "literature" as opposed to ".:_censored_:.", which it is.

Bant: I lurve new reviewers! Especially quick ones! I hope I was quick enough... Just don't expect it every update. Noooo, not at _all_...

* * *

**The Fic!**

In the med lab:

"He's regaining consciousness," reported John to Dr. Gonnal.

"You realize I've got a homicidal killer in my hospital ward? My god!" he replied.

"Well, the good news is that the psychosis may no longer be an issue. He sustained enough brain damage that certain areas, including the behavioral section, simply shut down and the healing factor doesn't seem to be affecting them. So he's either even more of a psychotic killer or fairly well-adjusted now."

"Good to know," muttered Dr. Gonnal, his head in his hands. What on earth was he going to do with a mass murderer, rehabilitated or not?

Sabretooth regained consciousness slowly. He had a terrible headache, and everything seemed fuzzy...eventually the room came into focus. What the hell was he doing in a hospital? And then he remembered. He had been attacked by that demon thingy, ripped nearly to shreds... It was a miracle he was still alive, healing factor or no. And that's when he noticed the oddest thing: he no longer had any desire to kill the world because it existed; quite frankly he didn't have much desire to kill anything. Then he passed out again.

While he was unconscious John and Dr. Gonnal checked him over for over-all health; nothing was found really wrong with him. The only major difference was the section of his brain responsible for behavior.

Half an hour later the large mutant woke up again. After introductions and a series of controlled psychology tests it was determined he was now more normal and certainly less deranged, and he was given full range of the mansion.

Sarah was in the kitchen eating an apple when Sabretooth entered. Her face reverted to shock, then fear, the bitter scent of panic suddenly apparent in the room. She bolted for the door, slamming it behind her and running for Dr. Gonnal. Sabretooth was left behind, frozen, wondering for the first time what the hell he had been thinking for most of his life.

Sarah broke into Dr. Gonnal's office as he was talking to several of the other students. "Sabretooth is in the kitchen! As in the psycho killer one!" she announced.

"Yes, I was going to speak to you about that," he sighed. "Sabretooth was found dying on our porch, and we took him in and gave him medical attention; that was two days ago. Brain damage attained during a fight with an unknown entity resulted in the removal of most psychotic tendencies. He'll be staying here for a few days until we figure out what to do with him."

"Oh god..." breathed Lance. He had seen files at the Institute detailing the high-profile mutants they needed to watch out for, and Sabretooth's file had been frightening.

"Who's Sabretooth?" whispered Lucas to Ally.

"I don't know," she whispered back.

"What's the deal with this Sabretooth guy?" asked Mia out loud.

"Sabretooth is—was—homicidal and responsible for several hundred deaths. He is related to Wolverine and shares similar powers as well as a long-standing rivalry."

"Fuuuunn..." moaned Ben. "This place is so messed up..."

"Yes, well, I expect you to treat our guest with respect. That said, you all have the rest of the day off."

As the students left the room a murmur started up among them. Speculation on the teachers who had yet to arrive, Sabretooth, their training exercise and the sanity of Dr. Gonnal widespread, those being the main issues of the moment.

Soon everyone was outside. Still winter as it was, the ground was covered with snow. (1)

"Never thought I'd see snow in a desert," said Lance.

"The Antarctic is a desert," said Ally with a roll of her eyes. "It's pretty much all snow all the time."

"Okay," conceded Lance. Silence fell for a few moments.

Ally stood up, stretching with a yawn before reaching over to Mia. "Tag your it!" she called, then ran away. Mia responded by chasing her, then tagging Sarah. Soon everyone was running around, slipping in the snow and trying to figure out who, exactly, was tagging whom and when.

Sarah was it and everyone knew it and was keeping there distance. With a slightly evil grin she unfurled her wings, stretching each one out eight feet to either side of her body, tagging Tabby. (2)

"Impressive wingspan, (3)" said Ally with a raised eyebrow. "But I think that counts as cheating. Some of us here aren't mutants."

"Or just have a really terrible mutation," put in Ben. "What can I do? Be cold on people?"

"I think it counts," said Mia. "And I can only destroy things with my powers, so it's even."

And so the game continued. So did the day, until we find ourselves at the next one.

"FIFTY! NIFTY! UNITED STATES! FROM THIRTEEN! ORIGINAL! COLONIES!" shouted Ally, running after Mia.

"Gah! I hate hate hate that song!" she shouted back. "I gotta sing something else… HARK HOW THE BELLS, SWEET SILVER BELLS (4)… nope… ANGELS WE HAVE HEARD ON HIGH (5)… definitely no… THE PHAAAAANTOM OF THE OPERA (6)… I HEARD THERE WAS A SECRET CHORD! THAT DAVID PLAYED (7)… AMAZING GRACE! (8)... THE CAT CAME BACK! THE VERY NEXT DAY! THE CAT CAME BACK (9)… damn!"

Looking over her shoulder at her pursuer she managed to run straight into a rock, knocking herself effectually unconscious. With a sigh Ally did her best to support the girl, dragging her as best as she could and beginning to head back to the Arizona Academy for Talented Children. (10)

Halfway there she was met by Todd, who helped her, the two doing their best to drag the unconscious body in-between them. It was not easy going; unconscious people tend to flop in awkward places, droop and hang there like a literal dead weight.

Sabretooth came around the corner of the Academy to find himself faced with two frightened teens dragging a less-frightened-if-only-because-of-lack-of-awareness teen between them.

"Look, I know you both probably hate me, but can I help you with her? Dragging her isn't going to help." He growled because, well, that's pretty much his only tone of voice.

Wordlessly Ally and Todd drew closer together, instinctively protecting Mia. Both had their senses hyper-alert, nervous from the proximity of the past killer. Sabretooth heaved a sigh, reaching up to rub the back of his neck in a care-worn gesture before turning to leave. Nobody would trust him more if he **made** the two kids in front of him let him help the second girl.

After a calculating glare, Ally stepped aside. "Okay, you can take her. Be _careful_ with her." The last part was almost hissed, eyes narrowed with protectiveness.

Todd gave her a look obviously telling her she was crazy. "If he wanted to do her any harm us too wouldn't protect her much."

"Okay," sighed the boy, shifting to allow Sabretooth an easier grasp, surprisingly gentle in his hold on her. As she was picked up bodily he let go, reluctantly, shadowing the taller mutant, Ally right behind him. The strange caravan of people made its way slowly towards the Academy.

Sabretooth felt the (relatively) light body of the girl in his arms and _worried_. The experience was utterly foreign. She was so fragile, and he was perplexed by the surge of inexplicable protectiveness.

(1) It's Arizona; yes, it snows in Arizona. Deal with it.

(2) Wheeee! Alliteration.

(3) Stolen from Toy Story because I'm too lazy to come up with something myself.

(4) Carol of the Bells. Very pretty, not good at drowning things out. Unless its things in your head, because once it's in _there_ you're stuck with it forever…

(5) A Christmas carol called 'Angels we have heard on high" that continues 'sweetly singing o'er the plains, and the mountains in reply, echoing their joyous strains! Gloria…"

(6) Guess. Go on, I dare ya.

(7) The Hallelujah song from Shrek

(8) Guess again.

(9) One of the single most annoying songs in existence. Do not ever—EVER—let someone sing it to you. It will recirculate in your mind for DAYS, until it has drained you of all life and will… and then, it will go, seeking another victim…

(10) Did it get a name yet? Never mind. Now it has one:)

**A/N**: I told you so. Crazy, crazy crazy… Though I did update twice in one day! Consider a once-and-only, folks. I'm still me, despite evidence to the contrary...


	10. Wow! Chapter Ten

**Songs of Power Chapter Ten**

**Disclaimer:** Not mine if it's recognizable. I own the plot, Sarah, Mia, Ally, Dr. Gonnal, Ben, Lucas, Heather, the teachers and Glimmer, who is an anti-teacher.

**Shout-outs:**  
_LalaithCat:_ Trust me, I watch for the dodos all the time... that Pickwick. Needs a better handle on her kid... And what do you mean, "a little odd?" I think it's far beyond that point...

_Danrilor:_Thank you! I hope you like this chapter as well.

_iamhollywood:_ Thanks! I think the reason I don't update much is the lack of inspiration, which means it's never forced... that and I'm ridiculously lazy. Yup.

_bant:_ THANKS!

_Mugglebuddy:_ Really? You're a Phan? Oh cool! Me too! And I hate the state song as well... it is so eeevviilll...

_mattb3671:_ Me too, actually! THANKS!

And the Author proclaimed, "Let there be fic!"... and there was.

As they walked in the doors of the mansion they ran into Freddy and Sarah, who had just woken up.

"Mia!" gasped Sarah.

"It's okay," said Ally, sounding as if she didn't believe her own words. "She ran into a rock."

The two other students drew to the side to allow Sabretooth to pass, then fell in behind him as well. A very little while brought them to the med lab.

"What happened?" asked John.

"Mia ran into a rock," said a hidden Ally, invisible behind everyone else.

The girl gave a slight groan, slowly blinking open her eyes. "Huhhh… what?" she managed. The foot of one of the beds crumbled, followed by the **ping** of a shattering window. Though she still wasn't all the way conscious, her eyes shot open, hands clasping over her mouth as if to keep her words from spilling out. Silent panicked tears started to run from her eyes, spilling onto her cheeks.

"Uncontrollable mutation?" John asked the students as Sabretooth gently lowered Mia onto a bed.

"No." said Ally. "Well, mostly. It requires concentration from her, not inordinate amounts, but some. Colds and flus, anything that messes with her throat, can make her loose control."

"Good. My guess is that the bump just rattled her a bit and has slightly impaired that bit of her mind. She should be fine in half an hour, if that's true." There was a collective sigh of relief. "Now, I need to get work done, so why don't you all get breakfast?"

Reluctantly the room cleared. Once everyone had scrounged something edible they started discussing this morning's events.

"I hope she's okay," said Ally worriedly. "If she can't talk anymore… It'll destroy her. I've known her when she couldn't control it."

"John said she'll be fine…" put in Sarah, but there was a note of worry in her voice too.

"I guess we'll have to wait and see."

Back in the med lab Sabretooth was watching Mia while John fussed with something in the attached office. The girl was propped up in a bed, no longer crying though she was staring straight ahead, face painfully blank.

Eventually John came back over. "Want to try talking again?" he asked, handing her a piece of paper and a pencil.

_Just a second._ Wrote Mia, getting up and leaving. A few minutes later she came back with Ally and a small round disc of metal, which she handed to her friend.

"It's a pitch pipe," explained Ally. "I give her a note and then she can sing it back. It's hard to find the starting note unless you have help, and Mia's told me it's easier to keep from breaking things if she's singing."

She blew gently into the pipe, making a clear pitch. Mia took a deep breath and started to sing.

"Do…Re…Mi…Fa…So…La…Ti…Do! Oh good! I can talk again!" she exclaimed, before bursting into tears.

"Ohhhh, it's okay," said Ally. "It'll be fine… nothing came of it. You can still talk and sing… good thing, too! We need you in the alto section… After all, Jean isn't as good as you are(1)"

That startled a watery laugh out of her. "Nope… She might be good and all, but she's not perfect."

"I won't ask," sighed Dr. Gonnal, who had just walked in. "You're okay now?" Concern was evident on his face.

Before Mia could answer a lot of yelling could be heard outside the window. "What on earth?" she said, walking over to the window. "Looks like fun… combined snow volleyball and a snowball fight."

"Really?" said Ally, brightening up visibly. "What are we waiting for?

As the two girls disappeared down the hallway Dr. Gonnal moaned "These kids are crazy."

"We prefer the term differently sane!" yelled someone around the corner.

Outside there was a game of sorts going. It involved snowballs, a volleyball and a complicated maze of snow-forts.

"What's the goal?" Ally yelled at Sarah.

"Keep people distracted with snowballs while playing volleyball…and it doesn't matter if the ball hits the ground because it's covered with snow."

"Fun! Whose on which team?"

"Todd, me and Rogue on one and Lance, Lucas and Tabby on the other."

"I'll go join there team!" said Mia.

"I'll stay here, then!" added in Ally. Soon the battle was raging, storm flying everywhere.

Ally was hit with a snowball on her head, snow sticking to her winter hat as she looked for the volleyball. To her surprise it came from behind her, managing to bop her on the head (again!). Shocked, she turned around to see Dr. Gonnal with another adult and two more kids. "Thanks!" she called, turning around to get hit with more snow. Ignoring it she served, managing to get Todd on his head. He kicked at it once it landed, accidentally hitting Dr. Gonnal.

"Kids…" he sighed. "Could you come over here, please?" As everyone clustered around him he introduced everyone: "These are Ally, Mia, Tabby, Todd, Lance, Sarah, Lucas, Rogue and Freddy; Remy and Ben are inside. Children, these are Mrs. Winthrow, the new math teacher, Heather Greenson and Jonathon Starsmore(2).

Heather was wearing a sweatshirt with the hood pulled low over her face so only her nose and mouth were visible, along with very baggy jeans. Jonathon was wearing all black, with a black scarf tied over his mouth, so you could only see _his_ eyes as well.

"Jonathon speaks using a form of telepathy," put in Dr. Gonnal, "So don't be surprised if there's an…odd edge to his voice. Sarah, Mia, would you show them around?"

"Sure!" said Mia. "Okay, I'll show you around… I'm Mia, in case you didn't catch it the first time; there's a lot of us, huh?"

"And I'm Sarah."

"What is this place?" asked Heather as they walked off, voice very quiet. "A Professor Xavier found me, but said I would do better here…"

Mia started. "Well, technically we're a sister school of sorts to the Xavier Institute, one for kids who need a different learning environment, but technically isn't everything. As Sarah likes to say…"

Sarah finished her sentence. "Welcome to the Arizona Academy of Useless and/or Psychologically Scarred Mutants."

"What do you mean?" she asked again.

"Well, Ben's mutation is to be cold all the time, Todd can spit gunk and jump, Lance's power is too destructive to be used, pretty much, Rogue drains anyone she touches with bare skin and I don't even know if I can fly because I'm scared of heights. Remy is just messed up, Freddy has personal image issues, Tabby verges on psychotic and slutty, Rogue has relationship issues because of her mutation and as far as we know Lucas is the only normalish one here. And Ally is human. What's your mutations?"

Instead of responding directly Heather took off her sweatshirt hood. She had eight eyes, black and arachnidian (3), her hair an inch-long fuzz over her head. "I woke up one day somewhere between human and spider…"

"That's tough," said Sarah. "Physical mutations are the worst… It was agony, getting my wings in. And then when I fledged… What's yours, Jonathon?"

He regarded her coolly. **First off**, he 'spoke', **it's Jono. I make…energy of some sort. It blew off most of my body; the cloth holds the energy in. Technically I'm dead.**

"Well, technically isn't everything. Here's the kitchen—help yourself if you ever want anything. Teachers' rooms down that hallway, students' down this one. Classrooms up these stairs, you'll have class with the rest of us. I think Dr. Gonnal has schedules for you… Anyways, pick any room that's empty; boys' on the left side, girls on the right. There're bathrooms at the end of the hallway. And with that I exit, stage right." Said Mia, disappearing into her bedroom.

(1) See Chapter Six for the background on this. It's near the end, after the squirrels.

(2) I think canonly speaking he's 18, but imagine him as 16 to young 17 for the sake of this fic.

(3) Watch Read make up words! Fun, eh? It's one of my goals to see the utter ruin of the English language by the time I'm 18, and this is part of my attempt to do so.

A/N: I promise these are the last characters I'm introducing. For the rest of the fic. But I just needed to put them in here… Plot next chapter, I promise! Read and review, my lovelies! Heh... wicked witch moment.


	11. Chapter Eleven

**Songs of Power Chapter Eleven**

**Disclamer: **Heather, Lucas, Ben, Sarah, Mia, Ally, all the teachers and anyone else unrecognizable is mine. All others are, predictably, somebody elses. That's why they're recognizable.

**Shout-outs:**  
_bant:_ .:blush:. Thank you! And many thanks as well for your help in ruining the English language...

_MuggleBuddy:_ Feel free to use it! It's just simple root words and suffixes... and I'm a bit of a Phan myself, so I wouldn't grudge you use of my (highly questionable) "genius."

_Mattb3671:_ Thanks! Your story really amused me! I can definitely see it...

_iamhollywood_: Thank you! As I mentioned before, I believe, Ben (the cold one) is a bit of an evolutionary dead-end. His mutation was something experimental that didn't work; however, that says nothing about his worth and his role in the fic... Oooh, foreshadowing!

And now, the fic:

Heather padded quietly into her room and looked around at the white walls, white curtain, beige carpet, shelf, desk, dresser and bed. Utilitarian and plain. Left on the desk was a note. It read

_Heather,_

_Welcome to the Arizona Academy! I hope you'll enjoy your stay here. Feel free to rearrange and decorate your room however you wish; I can buy paint for you if you want. If you need anything—clothes, other necessities—you will be able to get it in town this weekend along with a small allowance for anything you want to decorate your room with._

_Sincerely,_

_Dr. Gonnal_

Putting her small bag on the bed she poked around the room for a while. She peered into the closet, opened the dresser drawers and looked at the desk before doing anything.

She opened her bag, pulling out a spare change of clothes, two books—Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets and The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe—and a spiral-bound notebook. The books went on the shelf, the clothes in the dresser and the notebook in a desk drawer.

She finished and lay back on the bed for a few minutes before a sharp rap at the door distracted her.

She opened it to find Sarah. "Hey! I'm supposed to bring you to see John. He's the doctor here; he's really nice, I think you'll like him. This way…"

A few minutes' maneuvering of hallway brought them to the med lab, where John was waiting for Heather.

"Hello!" he said. "I'm John; you're Heather, right?"

She nodded shyly.

"Great! If you'll take off that jacket and the shoes I'll weigh you, and then a physical check-up…"

Heather did remove her sweatshirt, revealing two extra pairs of arms, spidery and tri-jointed, two pincer fingers at the ends, covered with the same short fur she had for hair; her first set, the upper-most ones, were mostly normal, but with an extra joint as well. On her neck was another mouth, giving her two, though the one on her throat was different—fanged, with spinnerets (1) beneath and above and fangs. The skin around it darkened to black, hard and armored, almost; the same armoring ran along the tops of all her arms, even the most human upper pair.

To her credit, Sarah only gave a little jump and a muffled gasp. John remained unfazed. "Well, since you have such a physical mutation I'll need to reevaluate your diet; it's quite possible that you have different dietary needs. Do you ever crave weird things?"

"When I was growing my wings I craved a lot of milk," put in Sarah. "I think it was for the calcium… the new bones for my wings and the rebuilding of my old bones; they're hollow so I'm lighter. Wouldn't do to have wings if you're too heavy to get off the ground. Or are scared of heights." At the end her smile was forced and brittle.

"Why don't you go do something else, Sarah?" recommended John.

"Right-o! I'm off."

Elsewhere:

"**Todd!**" (2) yelled Mia. "**Where _are_ you?**"

She couldn't quite catch the yelled response. Opening a window she stuck her head out.

"**What? I can't hear you!**"

"**What do you need?**" he yelled in response.

"**Where's Ally? I need to get my sheet music from her!**"

Jono, who was in his room listening to music, heard them.

**How in Hell do you manage to be so loud?** he demanded, opening the door to his room.

"Choir," said Mia, at a normal tone of voice. "And lots of practice. That's why I need Todd, actually… he's half of our tenors. And I need Ally…"

At that point Todd walked up. "What?" he asked.

"Have you seen Mia and Freddy? I haven't had choir practice in forever…"

"Right. I think Freddy's downstairs somewhere… but where's Ally?"

"Behind you," said a voice, amused. Mia gave a startled gasp and whirled around to see her friend.

"Whoah… don't sneak up on me like that!"

"Serves you right for being loud enough to wake the dead. What were you saying about practice?"

"Well, I think we still need polishing on 'The Star-Spangled Banner,' and 'Carol of the Bells' is just plain fun to sing… that should be enough."

"Great! I _really_ need to stretch out my vocal chords… I'm hideously out of practice!"

**I'll be off, then**, said Jono, going back into his room.

"Where can we sing?" asked Ally.

"The common area, probably," said Mia. "I'll go get water if Ally'll get music and Todd'll get Freddy…"

"Sounds good," said Todd, leaving.

"Ditto," put in Ally, going into her room to delve through stacks of sheet music.

Mia walked to the kitchen, searching around for a while before finding and filling four (3) water bottles. She went to the common area, where the other people were waiting for her.

"Shall we warm up, then?" she said.

Ten or so minutes later Sabretooth (4) walked in to see the four stretching thoroughly. He stayed to watch, standing unnoticed in the door.

"Dictation!" announced Ally, brushing her red hair out of her eyes as she walked to the piano. "Sing, 'Chester Cheetah chewed a chunk of cheap and chunky cheddar cheese.'"

The other people did, going a bit higher with each rendition until only Ally was singing. As she reached the end of her range she dropped out, so a brief silence fell.

"Why did you stretch before singing?" asked Rogue, who had been reading before the choir came in.

"Stretches out the diaphragm," put in Ally.

"Improves posture," added Mia.

"Keeps you from locking your knees," chimed in Fred.

"And it just loosens you up." Finished Todd.

"Riiiight…" said Rogue. "…knees?"

"When you lock your knees it cuts out the blood flow, and eventually you'll pass out," said Ally. "It happens, when you're standing on risers in choir… One year my choir teacher started out our rehearsal for our first concert by teaching us what to do when a person near you faints."

"Whatever…" muttered Rogue, getting up and leaving. "You know, people in choir didn't scare me until I met you…"

(1) What a spider uses to spin silk.

(2) The **bold** print within quotation marks indicates a yelled—at full choir volume—conversation. **Bold** print without quotation marks indicates Jono speaking. _Italics_ merely indicate emphasis, as does underlines and isolated **bold** print. CAPITALS signify yelling or fortissimo (the absolute loudest the singer can go) songs.

(3) And as this chapter's required alliteration…

(4) If anyone happens to remember his real name, I'd like it if they'd tell me via review… I seem to have temporarily blanked on it.

A/N: Well, I guess I lied. No plot development in this chapter… and the next one is forming friendships (just so the new people start to fit in), but there's going to be plot in the next one, I promise! This really is going somewhere!


End file.
